"Stop staring freak. You’re a disgusting worm to girls like her," Tyler insulted Ben as he stepped forward to stand at Ben’s side and smirked. "That’s Penelope. You couldn’t get her to talk to you to save your life, so stop looking before you embarrass yourself."
Ben gritted his teeth. This girl was way out of his league, but why did bastards like this always have to rub it in his face?!? Ben was reaching his breaking point.
He came all the way to New York City hoping to start a new life, only to be treated like trash, and told he would die in one month if he didn’t do the impossible! He couldn’t take it anymore!
’I couldn’t get her to talk to me to save my life?!? Even if that was true before, things can change!’ He gripped the Divine Pick Up Line in his hand, feeling the dry paper rub against his skin.
’Tyler’s right about one thing, this IS to save my life! Screw it!’ Ben planned to wait for a perfect opportunity, to find a pretty girl somewhere to use the Divine Line on, but the system said it would work on any woman, so she might as well be a top beauty!
He turned to Tyler, "You said I couldn’t get her to even talk to me? Then watch!"
Tyler was taken aback by this outburst, but soon sneered. "This should be funny."
Ben ignored him. When Penelope got off the phone call, he took a deep breath, squeezed the paper in his palm, and walked into the flames. Annihilation or rebirth,
*Gulp* "Excuse me, m..mi..miss..." he stuttered.
Tyler and his buddy were already pointing at him and chuckling, getting ready to emasculate Ben once Penelope rejected him. They were certain that any moment now, he would be humiliated in front of the entire cafeteria.
Penelope hadn’t snubbed Ben right away, but it wasn’t a good thing. It was only because she didn’t hear him! She was still texting on her phone!
"Miss!" Ben spoke louder.
"Ah!" Penelope jumped back, startled. She held her phone to her chest in a defensive posture as she glanced at Ben like he was about to assault her.
Tyler was bent over now, laughing at Ben like he was a sideshow clown.
’This is not going well.’ Ben felt his heart leap up his throat. His hands were shaking as he raised the paper to his face and read from it.
’F*ck my life.’
He made a terrible miscalculation. The text was tiny, so he hadn’t studied it in detail during the short time before Fariq’s entrance. Now he saw that it was complete gibberish! It didn’t resemble English or any language he’d heard of!
’What is this garbage?’ He tried to read from it. ’Druhhin...Uut...’
Out of nowhere, Ben’s pupils dilated and his body froze. ’What’s happening?’ He could still think, but couldn’t move or control anything. He was a statue, or so he thought...
Suddenly, "Ben" stretched his neck and took a step towards Penelope, but this wasn’t the real Ben at all! His body moved on its own!
’I’ve been possessed!’ The "Ben" in the cafeteria was walking, being controlled like a video game character. Ben viewed everything from his eyes as usual, but someone or something commanded his body. He felt his eyes relax and his lips stretch, forming a casual smile, an expression almost like...confidence?
"Miss, that’s the textbook for Macroeconomics, isn’t it..." Ben pointed to a book under Penelope’s arm.
Penelope’s eyes widened, glimmering in surprise. Ben was even more shocked. It wasn’t because he somehow knew about the textbook, but because he was speaking a foreign language!
The Ben watching from inside only spoke English. How was his body able to converse in another language so fluently? Even though the real Ben couldn’t say a word of it himself, at this moment, he could still somehow understand everything, and also recognize that it was Greek.
Tyler and his friend had their eyes bulge out! They couldn’t believe this short fatty spoke a rare foreign language so well.
After a slight surprise, Penelope responded in Greek, "It is..."
Ben shook his head and sighed. "Too bad...If you’re taking that class then you’ve missed a huge opportunity for the easiest perfect grade..." Then he turned around and prepared to walk away.
The real Ben went crazy. ’What are you doing bastard?!? Turn back around and woo her off her feet! You stole daddy’s body so at least give me a good show!’
"Wait!" Penelope shouted.
Ben felt as his lips stretched wider into an expectant smile. He turned around.
"What did you mean by that?" Penelope’s attention was captured.
"That book is last year’s edition. There’s a new edition with an extra section that had only been available to professors before--questions and answers. The professors here use that section to create their exams. If you had it then it would be like having the tests in advance."
Penelope’s eyebrows arched upwards. "At the book store, they said this was the latest edition though..."
"The new edition will be available in a few days as an online-only version at the publisher’s website."
Penelope’s eyes shined. She became excited! Everyone knew how difficult the classes at this university were. Her English was only intermediate, so studying would be even harder for her. Having the tests beforehand would be a godsend! Still, there was a concern in the back of her mind. "Isn’t that...cheating?"
Ben smirked. "It’s not cheating if you don’t get caught." Then he turned and strolled away again.
’Don’t play with me! Get your ass back there and finish the job!’ Real Ben was fuming. He couldn’t handle this back and forth pace.
When Penelope saw Ben leaving, she panicked. She had been nervous before coming to the USA because she didn’t know anyone here. She was an unfamiliar girl in a foreign country, with no friends, no fellow students to speak Greek with. Now, this guy came out of nowhere and spoke her language. He even knew these hidden tips about school and seemed so aloof. She couldn’t let him go like that! This boy was too intriguing!
"Ah! Wait a second!" This time Penelope ran to him, with an eager smile on her face, and flushed cheeks.
Tyler’s jaw dropped! Did this beauty chase after the Burrito King? He couldn’t believe it! A few others in the cafeteria also rubbed their eyes to make sure they weren’t seeing things.
Penelope asked him, "Can I have your number?"
At this moment, Ben felt like his brain had rebooted. He was back in the driver’s seat. It’s too bad the timing was awful since he was at a total loss for what to do. ’No. Bring Casanova back!’ he cried, but there was no use. The Greek-speaking, charming alter ego was nowhere to be found.
"Tha mou dóseis loipón ton arithmó sou?" Penelope looked at him with expectant eyes.
’Oh sh*t...No wait, she asked for my number before. Ok, I can do that much.’ Keeping his mouth shut, Ben took out his phone and showed her his number on the screen. After he confirmed she watched her save him as a contact, he did an about-face and walked out of the cafeteria.
Having seen everything, it was now Tyler’s turn to be a statue, standing there gawking like a fool. He and his friend were speechless!
On Ben’s way out, he glared at them. ’You said daddy couldn’t get her to talk to me? I didn’t have to. She ran over and did it herself! She even asked for my number! Could you do that? No! Never underestimate my colorful student life, bastard!’
Ben left the lunchroom in the highest spirits. That was the first time he’d spoken to a girl and received such a warm reaction. So what if it was only his body and some charm demon doing the talking? That’s called having a stunt double. If Hollywood stars could do it, why couldn’t he?
Then, mid-step, he halted.
In his excited state, Ben had left the cafeteria. There was only one problem--he forgot to eat!
’Should I go back? ...No way, too embarrassing.’
It was instant noodles for dinner.